A Splendid Match (Ophelia)

[Benjamin Burke]

(OOC: So I don't know what happened in the last one I'm just doing this one and kinda starting over. Ben's going to tell Fee that he's found her a husband)

Negotiations were through and Ben had a large smile on his face, he really couldn't have done much better for his little girl than he had and he couldn't be more proud. The Thornes were an old and noble family, and wealthy to boot, Fee would be honored, and bring honor to her family.

With a large grin he sent for his eldest daughter.

[Ophelia Burke]

(I'm reposting my first post in the original thread.)

Like any proper young lady, Ophelia would always respond to a summons from her father. But there was a part of her, the rebellious side, that secretly resented it. She didn't like being "fetched" as if she were little more than a piece of property. Of course, she knew enough to keep such thoughts to herself. She knew how good she had it, and she never wanted to do anything to test her father's indulgence.

Unless, of course, she felt as if she were pushed into it.

Right now, as she saw it, she was far away from having that happen. She believed that as long as she was the good little girl, the perfect princess, that her father would be content to leave her on her own to do as she pleased. She was happy with Tyler, and after the ball, she was now deeply in love with him. Nothing could shatter that, right?

She made Gretchen wait a full five minutes, just to prove a point, while she fixed her hair. It didn't need to be fixed, but that hardly mattered. She just wanted to make it known that she wasn't keen on dropping everything and coming the instant she was sent for.

Finally, she skipped into her father's study, her blonde curls bouncing brightly.

"You needed me, Daddy?"

[Benjamin Burke]

"Take a seat sweetie." he said in a gentle fatherly tone, though he couldn't conceal his excitement. Perhaps he should have summoned her mother to be present as well but he simply couldn't wait, this was indeed fantastic news and he wanted to share it with his girl.

He was anticipating her joy as well at being paired with such a good match, after all didn't all girls want to marry the best?

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia smiled prettily at her father and sat down delicately in one of the chairs across from the desk. She had no idea what this could be about, and she felt a small quiver of uncertainty. He seemed happy, so he probably wasn't calling her in here to talk about her grades at school or the ridiculously large amount of galleons she had spent on her Yule Ball gown.

Perhaps he knew about Tyler and was calling her here to give her his blessing? After all, Tyler was a pureblood and his family was wealthy. The fact that they probably would have been considered blood traitors did not occur to her.

"What is it, Daddy?" she asked, her tone hopeful.

[Benjamin Burke]

"Well sweetheart...there just isn't any other way to put this so I'm going to just get it out there alright?" he asked but didn't wait for her answer, " You're to be married." he announced with a large smile, " Married to one of the most eligible boys in society." his grin widened.

Ben wasn't an idiot, he didn't develop as much business acumen as he did by being blind all these years. He knew that his daughter was a lot to handle, but she was just so pretty what man wouldn't want her?Still be that as it may he needed to find a man he believed would take care of her, and he had found him in, "Axis Thorne." he relayed.

[Axis Thorne]

(Am I supposed to be in this one?)

[Benjamin Burke]

(Not unless you want to be, but you have another pm.)

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia sat there a moment, perfectly calm and still. It was to be the moment of calm just before the storm.

When her father announced that she was to be married, her hopes had risen, but when he said the name, she almost couldn't believe it. Axis Thorne? Who was this clown? She had no idea who he was or what was so great about him. He wasn't Tyler, therefore, she wasn't interested.

"Who?" she said, wrinkling her nose. Anyone paying attention would have seen her also getting ready to dig in her heels. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair tightly, and her jaw tightened. "Daddy, you can't seriously expect me to marry some man I don't even know."

[Benjamin Burke]

It hadn't even crossed his mind that she wouldn't know him, "Of course you know him sweet heart, he goes to your school. And quite the catch dearest, you should be honored." he could see her starting to dig her heels in but this was one thing he was going to be stern about, " Do not get that look Ophelia, I've gone through a lot of trouble to arrange this marriage and for your happiness too. Mr. Thorne is young, handsome, wealthy, and of a bloodline that rivals our own, you will be very happy with him."

[Ophelia Burke]

Something flared in her eyes, and her teeth came together with a loud click. Furious, she jumped to her feet.

"Oh, really?" she shouted. "A lot of trouble to arrange, was it? So it's just a business arrangement, then? Is that all I am to you, Daddy? A business commodity? Funny, I thought I was your daughter, not your property! Tell me, Daddy, how much did this loser pay for me? I don't give a rot for how wealthy he is or how good his bloodline is... I would never associate with anyone who has to pay for a bride. I'm telling you now, I won't have it!"

[Benjamin Burke]

This was totally and completely unexpected and Ben sputtered for a moment, he tried between his daughter's ranting to inject soft tones of "no you're not a commodity" etc, and to tell her how much he loved her but at her last words his own jaw snapped shut. She had gone too far.

Ben had never been overly strict with his daughters, he had three princesses who were supposed to be cherished and spoiled. He usually always got his way with them and when they did happen to cajole or coerce something out of him, he was often happy to let it slide, but now staring before him was a termagrant in the guise of his daughter. When had she grown so willful?

In a voice she had never been subject to, and a death look he reserved for those he opposed in darker circumstances he spoke quietly but forcefully " I am your father Ophelia. As such you will obey me, and that is the end of it. Do you understand?"

It was the quiet in his voice that should have given her warning, a tone that she had pushed him too close to the edge and only Merlin knew what would happen if she pushed again.

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia stared incredulously at her father for a long moment, unable to believe what she was hearing. She had never heard her father speak to her in this manner, and it disturbed her greatly.

Seeing that he had no intentions of budging, Ophelia then decided it was time to deploy her most powerful weapon. She hadn't had to use it, at least on her father, since the time she was 6 years old, but it was always very effective.

She wrinkled her face a little, concentrating very hard on the thought of never seeing Tyler again and instead being forced to marry some loser. Blinking a couple of times, the tears came, big round tears that stuck to her long lashes and tumbled onto her porcelain cheeks.

"But, Daddy," she whispered in a broken voice, "I don't want to marry someone I don't love."

[Benjamin Burke]

Ben had always been a sucker for beautiful women. One only had to look at his wife to see that. His daughters they were all turning into beautiful women, and he loved them already to boot. He had always indulged them and gave into their whims because it pleased him to do so. Fee was his brightest jewel, Kassia his softest rose, and Allaire...merlin how she reminded him of her mother, Emma, his setting sun and rising moon, she completely reigned over his universe. That wasn't to say he wasn't the man of the house. He was, and very old school at that, but unlike his peers he didn't appreciate the idea of domination over the household, he rather viewed his marriage as a partnership, he knew how lucky he was to have Emma in his life.

Fee was his girl, a daddy's girl to the core, and he wanted the best for her, Axis Thorne was the best. He even saw a bit of himself in Axis, well himself before he met Emma. He too was from a family with high standards, he was a man of determination and he didn't let anything get in his way. A strong hand, but with the right woman by his side he had softened, not to the outside world of course, but to his wife, and later to his children, he was still that strong hand, one he used to protect those he loved. He saw that Axis could be that man with the right woman, and such a woman would break through the cold exterior and find what he himself found in his own wife. One special woman, and that woman was going to be his Fee.

"Love isn't always where you think it is." he told her softening to her tears, " You must give it a chance first...get to know him."

[Ophelia Burke]

"I don't want to get to know him!" Ophelia protested. "It doesn't make sense... it's all wrong. You're supposed to get to know someone, and love them before you get engaged, not after!"

She sniffled, then looked over at him with crystal tears still clinging to her long eyelashes and sparkling in her eyes. "Daddy, please... I love someone else. He's a pureblood, and he's rich, too. Please... I'm too young to get married, but I want to be with him, not this Axel person."

[Benjamin Burke]

It had been the wrong thing to tell him, "What?" he asked for a moment praying he had heard wrong, but the delicate flush to his daughter's skin told him the truth.

"He dared?!" Ben roared. Ophelia had likely never heard her father yell, and certainly never was his anger directed at her, it was something quite awe inspiring. " Who is he?! Has he touched you?!"

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia trembled at the sheer volume of her father's voice. She felt rather like a sapling being blown around by a harsh wind. Still, she refused to budge. Perhaps unwisely, she replied with a lie.

"Yes, Daddy," she said, lifting her chin boldly. "He has. I wanted him to."

It was true in a matter of speaking. Tyler had held her hand, he had danced with her, and yes, he had kissed her. Technically, that was touching, wasn't it? It had not gone further than that, but perhaps if her father thought her already ruined, he would change his mind about selling her to this Axel person. That was her thinking, anyway.

[Benjamin Burke]

It took eight small words to shatter his world. Were Ben not in such good physical shape, he might have had a heart attack, as it was he felt as if his heart was breaking, and all of a sudden he couldn't look at his daughter anymore.

He didn't know what the next plan of attack was, but something had to be done...and quickly at that.

"Go." he whispered stumbling for a chair. "Leave me...get out of my sight."

The words were heartbreaking, his expression even more so, but in that small moment it was as if he had cast Fee from his heart, and his life. Parents were supposed to love you unconditionally, it was true, but Ben's world had collapsed and he was broken on the inside, his daughter had done that to him, and he couldn't bear to look at her.

[Ophelia Burke]

Ophelia's knees shook beneath her. Whatever she had expected her father's response to be, this was not it. She had hoped that he would just tell her that the engagement was off, and that if she wanted Tyler, he would get him for her. She was all too used to being indulged in all things, and when she wanted something, she expected her father to get it for her. That was how things were supposed to be.

But this... this was not how it was supposed to go. Her father looked.... crushed. He was disappointed in her, and she had never expected to see that look on his face when he looked at her. It broke her heart.

However, she was still not going to back down. She would not relent and marry this stranger simply because her father wished her to. It was demeaning to her, forcing her to accept a marriage to someone she didn't love or even know. She was perfectly capable of choosing for herself, and she had chosen Tyler.

Her bottom lip quivered, and she backed slowly out of her father's study. She had hoped to leave feeling victorious, but she left feeling very small indeed.

[Jadon Burke]

It was hardly Jadon's fault that he stopped to listen to a rather large chunk of this conversation. Both of them were so stubborn that he'd caught the conversation as he happened by, and he waited patiently for it to end.

Unlike his sister, the ending that happened was almost exactly what he expected to happen, and he sighed, backing away as Fee left the room. He'd talk to her, but later. She would need a little time to cry, and then he'd go to her. His mind drifted briefly to Justin, and his sister, and he wondered if Fee and Gwen shouldn't spend a little time together.

When Fee was gone, he stepped into his father's study, crossing his arms and leaning in the doorway. "I take it that didn't go quite as you'd hoped?"

[Kassia Burke]

Nothing happened in the household that Kassia didn't know about. At least nothing of importance. She had made friends with house elves and other servants alike. It wasn't that she was spying on her family, but rather she saw it as if she were taking care of them. Especially her sisters.

She knew when her father was angry with mother, and more than likely was when mother was angry with father. She knew why they were angry, and in subtle ways she'd try to fix things herself.

She didn't know how she was going to fix this new disaster, but she had to try.